Wikimedia Polska

Polish version

Wiki Loves Monuments 2024

We are pleased to announce the next edition of the 'Wiki Loves Monuments’ competition. This is an open photo competition so we invite all photography enthusiasts to participate. The 10 best photos from this year’s Polish edition of 'Wiki Loves Monuments’ will go to the international final of the Wiki Loves Monuments competition, where they will compete with photos from dozens of countries.

The aim of the competition is to photograph Polish and World Heritage sites and preserve them for future generations. The idea is to collect documentation of Poland’s material heritage and make it available free of charge to anyone in the world.

The competition photographs will become part of Wikipedia’s multimedia resources and will be able to illustrate entries in its almost 300 language versions. The photos can also be used – completely free of charge – for educational or promotional purposes.

The competition takes place from 1 to 30 September.

Despite the fact that the competition is very popular every year, we should not forget that there are nearly 90 thousand immovable monuments in Poland, so the work of documenting our heritage is still endless, as is the accumulation of the sum of human knowledge. The competition is open to photos of the most famous sites in our country. However, we are even more curious to see photos of less obvious and well-known buildings, which need the eye of a good photographer to reveal their beauty to us. Wiki Loves Monuments is a unique opportunity to show the world the beauty of Poland’s cultural heritage through photography. The best photos will be submitted to an international jury and the winning photos will be seen by the whole world, like Marian Naworski’s 2019 photo of the Evangelical Church in Stawiszyn! Many monuments are still waiting to be discovered photographically, so get your camera and get to work.

The competition is part of the global initiative Wiki Loves Monuments.

The idea for the competition was born in the Netherlands in 2010. A year later, 5,500 photographers from 18 European countries (including Poland) took part in the competition for prizes, submitting more than 168,000 photos – thanks to which Wiki Loves Monuments 2011 entered the Guinness Book of Records in the category 'Largest Photo Contest’. The third edition of the competition, which took place from 1 to 30 September 2012, has already covered the whole world: 15,000 people from 35 countries have submitted more than 365,000 photos.

Unobvious Silesia

For the second year running, the competition will also award special prizes in the Unobvious Silesia category, organised in cooperation with the Wojciech Korfanty Institute in Katowice. In this category, three photos depicting the sights of the Silesian Voivodeship will be awarded.

The photos will be judged on their unconventional approach to the subject (e.g. photographing a well-known monument from an unknown angle) or revealing perspective (photographs of little-known monuments, e.g. those located in small towns or rural areas), or non-stereotypical representation of Silesia (e.g. historic parks or palaces).

Discover your Silesia! We are counting on your imagination in dealing with the topic.

JURY 2024

Ewa Caban

Ewa Caban

Architect, professionally active in the field of tangible and intangible monuments, Head of the Cultural Heritage Centre at the Wojciech Korfanty Institute  in Katowice (formerly the Regional Institute of Culture); previously Deputy Conservator of Monuments in the Silesian Voivodeship (1999-2006) and Acting Conservator of Monuments in the Silesian Voivodeship (2006-2007). Author of articles on the region's cultural heritage, author and co-author of numerous conservation documentations.
Wikipedian since 2011, populariser of the idea of open knowledge, member of the Wikimedia Polska Association, editor of Wikipedia, Wikisłownik and Wikiresources. Organiser of the "Fridays with Wikipedia" editing workshops in Katowice since 2018. Wikitriner. Within the framework of GLAM she cooperated with, among others, the Trakt Cultural Tourism Centre in Poznań and the Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów.

Jacek Durski

Jacek Durski

Photographer, computer scientist, teacher. He graduated from the Academy of Photography in Krakow. Since 2014 he has published photographs in various publications, and since 2019 his works can be seen in photographic exhibitions (individual and collective). He likes to photograph architecture, post-industrial objects; he creates series on social issues. His photographs have been exhibited and awarded several times at national photography festivals. He has been involved with Wikipedia for nearly 20 years. Since 2014 he runs the School and Academic Project/XLO. Co-creator of the Katowice project. He organises photography classes and open-air workshops with students of WSTI in Katowice.

Radosław Gajda

Radosław Gajda

Architect, lecturer, youtuber, Varsovian of the Year 2023. He taught the history of architecture and art at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology and the European Academy of Arts. After his academic career, he started creating a programme about architecture called GOOD IDEA on YouTube. He is the co-author of the popular book ‘Archistorie’ and the author of the collection of essays ‘Four Dimensions of Architecture “and the architectural detective story ”Koszykowa 55’. He has also published academic works. He was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the President of the Republic of Poland for popularising architecture.

Krzysztof Koszewski

Krzysztof Koszewski

Habilitated doctor (PhD), engineer-architect, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. Member of the Program Council of the National Heritage Institute in 2014-17. Author of the monograph "Images of Architecture. Representations of architectural ideas in the context of contemporary visual culture"; author and co-author of publications and member of research teams dealing with the application of new technologies in architecture, knowledge management of the architectural heritage, information and communication aspects of the creative process. He teaches visual communication at his home department.

Photographer working on urban and architectural themes. Winner of the first prize in the photo contest "Beijing in the eyes of foreigners" in 2017, co-author of the collective photo album "Streets of London" published by teNeues.

Kamila Neuman

Kamila Neuman

Lawyer by education, for many years associated with cultural institutions where, among other things, she coordinated exhibitions and cooperated with artists. A passionate photographer, winner of, among others, the competition for the 20th anniversary of FOTOJOKER in Poland, involved in the activities of the TiT Collective of female photographers. An active user and editor of the Wikimedia Commons project, an enthusiast of free multimedia, on a daily basis a manager of Open Culture in the Wikimedia Polska Association. Coordinator of the Wiki Science Photography Competition 2021 and the Wiki Loves Monuments Competition 2022.

Natalia Szcześniak

Natalia Szcześniak

Architect and urban planner, youtuber. Graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, she also studied scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Co-author of the bestselling book Archistorie. Since 2014, she has co-created the GOOD IDEA programme, in which she popularises knowledge about architecture, art and urban space. She is the originator and co-author of the GOOD IDEA e-learning platform and online courses, including the course ‘How to choose a flat’ helping people find their way in the difficult housing market. She is the publisher of the book Four Dimensions of Architecture.
All levels of her activity are linked by action for a better designed world - from the wise location of high-rise buildings to equal access to public toilets. Awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the President of the Republic of Poland for her popularisation activities.

Awarded photographs in 2023

Category: Best Single Photograph

The winning works

1st Place

Frombork, Radziejowski Tower (bell tower)

Author: Piotr Łotocki

2nd Place

Chambers, St Luke’s Church, now a Roman Catholic church,

Author: Szymon Muszański

3rd Place

The historic palace park in Pokój,

Author: Henryk Niestrój

Honorable mentions

1st Award

The former synagogue on Stawna Street in Poznań, inscription on the facade,

Author: Michalpe96

2nd Award

The historic palace park in Pokój,

Author: Henryk Niestrój

3rd Award

The historic palace park in Pokój,

Author: Henryk Niestrój

4th Award

Smolnik, Church of St Michael the Archangel in Smolnik,

Author: Szymon Muszański

5th Award

Krakow, arch-presbyterial church
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cracow,

Author: Michalpe96

6th Award

Świdnica, Peace Church in Świdnica,

Author: Henryk Niestrój

7th Award

Karpacz, Church cemetery in Karpacz,

Author: Robert Melon

Category: Unobvious Silesia

1st Place

Przybynów, St Nicholas Church in Przybynów,

Author: Patryk Fiutek

2dn Place

Podzamcze, Ruins of Ogrodzieniec castle,

Author: Edyta Kuciel

3rd Place

Bytom, Bytom water tower so called clock tower (opposite, Q117693534) and courtyard; view through window, noticeable imperfections and dirt on old glass,

Author: Adrian Tync

Contact

Katarzyna Makowska

Open Science Manager

katarzyna.makowska@wikimedia.pl

For media

Contact

Jolanta Drzewakowska
Communication and PR Manager

jolanta.drzewakowska@wikimedia.pl

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